Religion

longship

(40,416 posts)

17. Yes, so much

Sat Mar 10, 2012, 04:22 PM

Mar 2012

The only reason why people don't like the word atheist is the cultural stigma attached to it. BTW, this goes back many years.

I do not call myself an agnostic because although the existence of god may be in principle unknowable, the existence of such a being that the theists claim is clearly falsified. A deist god may still exist, but that's not one any of these theists are claiming.

Therefore, I call myself an atheist, like I always have. After all, the definition is quite simple and clear.

From the OED:
One who denies or disbelieves the existence of God.

That pretty much describes me, and many, many people who prefer the word Agnostic.

Agnostic, from the OED:
One who holds that the existence of anything beyond and behind material phenomena is unknown and, so far as can be judged, unknowable, and especially that a First Cause and an unseen world are subjects of which we know nothing.

In the first sense (material phenomena), I am an agnostic. In the second sense (First Cause) I am decidedly not one.

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Something to think about the next time you want to call an atheist "militant". [View all] cleanhippie Mar 2012 OP

That's a perfect illustration of the differences -nt NAO Mar 2012 #1

Here's the definition longship Mar 2012 #2

Agnostic = Atheist? No, not so much. TalkingDog Mar 2012 #5

Not equal words, but not mutually exclusive Silent3 Mar 2012 #11

It would be equally accurate to say skepticscott Mar 2012 #26

This is correct. n/t trotsky Mar 2012 #31

W/B skepticscott Mar 2012 #42

So I'm seeing. trotsky Mar 2012 #43

Yes, so much longship Mar 2012 #17

They are not equal, nor interchangable. I agree that there is overlap in people who are both. TalkingDog Mar 2012 #22

How is that, I'm curious longship Mar 2012 #23

I suppose if you decide to act as if there is a God... Silent3 Mar 2012 #27

Quite easily dmallind Mar 2012 #37

Or this. rug Mar 2012 #3

This message was self-deleted by its author cleanhippie Mar 2012 #4

Get back to me when they use that billboard to kill somebody. 2ndAmForComputers Mar 2012 #6

It's a good thing non sequiturs don't kill. rug Mar 2012 #7

Unlike what's depicted in the first two panels of the comic in the OP. 2ndAmForComputers Mar 2012 #12

Let it go, man, he is just trying to hijack the thread. cleanhippie Mar 2012 #14

Surely not! mr blur Mar 2012 #25

And the problem is what? aka-chmeee Mar 2012 #9

"Racist Billboard Saying �Slaves Obey Your Master� Sparks Outrage" rug Mar 2012 #10

Do you think the billboard is racist? ZombieHorde Mar 2012 #19

I think LeftishBrit put it well in the other thread. rug Mar 2012 #20

If we started going door to door like they do, aka-chmeee Mar 2012 #8

I'm a fundamentalist militant agnostic. I cannot know. You cannot know. NO ONE can know. saras Mar 2012 #13

Thats great, but do you BELIEVE in a god or not? cleanhippie Mar 2012 #15

I regard belief as a dangerous practice, like violent force, best reserved for extreme situations saras Mar 2012 #16

That has nothing to do with theism or atheism. cleanhippie Mar 2012 #18

Nope. Belief is a mental activity, not an abstract binary opposition. saras Mar 2012 #21

I feel like we are unable to communicate. cleanhippie Mar 2012 #28

Speaking of broken records. And debatable at that. nt humblebum Mar 2012 #24

Then debate it... deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #29

Well your portrayal of atheists as nothing more than militant noise makers, humblebum Mar 2012 #30

quite a list deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #32

Reality is what it is. But as usual, you attempt to put some spin on it. nt humblebum Mar 2012 #33

I agree deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #34

Well when you spin as often as you do, it's hard not to humblebum Mar 2012 #35

less singing, more bringing. n/t deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #36

I have already proven my case, and the incidents listed pretty much equal the humblebum Mar 2012 #38

case closed in post 32 then I guess n/t deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #39

Case proven at #32, but this could be pointlessly drawn out endlessly. However, humblebum Mar 2012 #40

certainly deacon_sephiroth Mar 2012 #41